The Eternal Heiress
by HolyOrdersOtaku
Summary: Darkness falls, and the Heiress comes out to feed. Public officials of Vale are being found dead of exsanguination, and local legends point to only one culprit; Weiss Schnee, the vampire who lives in the Emerald Forest. Ruby Rose, a newly anointed vampire hunter, is sent to Vale to investigate these rumors, and kill the Heiress once and for all. Rated M for language and content.
1. Prologue: Parasite

"There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights." ─ Bram Stoker, Dracula, 1897

* * *

Prologue: Parasite

Darkened ideals run rampant in the hearts of mortal men, disillusioning them to the true faces of the monsters of the night. For none can truly define what a monster truly is in light of historic atrocities. The spirits of good and evil have fragmented over the eons, masking truth and trust behind deceit and treachery. Yet, in spite of this horrid deconstruction of morality, man still considers himself to be wholly good, forevermore disregarding any evidence to the contrary. This is the darkest of ideals; a false concept of inherent good that consumes the soul of man as like a parasite.

With those thoughts of moral and immoral fabrication, the Heiress stalked her prey, eager for the feast of corrupt blood to come. The man was a local magistrate, placed into power due to his pious nature and outward love of God. To think of him as anything less than a holy man was damnable and unthinkable. Unless, of course, one knew of the young boys he kept under lock and key in his cellar at his _modest_ estate. Ah, how the Heiress was going to enjoy draining him dry.

How lovely and quaint a night it was, ever calming and peaceful. None would ever dare question why a young woman such as the Heiress would be going for a brief night walk on such an evening. After all, due in part to the magistrate himself, the streets of fair Vale had never been safer as thieves and violent criminals alike had one by one met with the same fate; a swift drop and a sudden stop. Even the magistrate himself did not question her presence when he caught sight of her. He simply tipped his top hat to her with a polite "Good evening, ma'am," as he went by casually, swinging his cane to and fro in an idle fidget.

And the Heiress, to her credit, returned the smile in kind and nodded in return, though she refused to give him a proper curtsy. She waited for him to pass by before she slipped herself into the shadows out of sight and out of mind of any who may now pass her by. Silently, carefully, and purposefully she watched him. Step by step, yard by yard, she stalked him. From the central promenade of the city center, to the now closed for the evening market square, to the hangman's gallows in front of the courthouse, and even the apothecary, where the Heiress suspected the magistrate may have purchased an illicit substance. No apothecary of good repute would be open so late. And still the Heiress stalked him.

Until, after a time, he found himself alone as he approached his personal home. He always claimed to live modestly, but this was, of course, a lie. A lie, the Heiress thought, none felt was worth questioning. For he did all he could to service the great city of Vale, so surely the citizens could forgive him for living comfortably. The house was three stories tall, four if you count the "wine" cellar, with at least seven bedrooms, two sitting rooms, a personal library, a study, a fully staffed kitchen, a dining room built to seat thirty, and the magistrate could even boast to be one of the few in Vale among the wealthy to have fully functioning plumbing and running water for his privy.

It sickened the Heiress to think that out of all of his servants and house guests that _none_ knew about the secret within his cellar. No, that simply could not be possible. The Heiress inhaled quietly, contemplating what sort of solution she must come up with for this dilemma. The magistrate unlocked his front door and entered his home. Before he could fully shut it, the Heiress's body "melted" into liquid shadow, slipping between the cracks just as it was closing and hiding in the shadows of the dimly light interior. The decor was elegant and expensive, and the Heiress despised every inch of it for what it was; pompous and outwardly farce. It was a disgusting display of false aristocracy masked by the illusion of legal standing and power.

"Ah, home sweet home," the magistrate said as he removed his gentleman's coat and top hat, placing them on a nearby rack. He then reached into his pocket and retrieved a small key as he casually walked down the hall and began to unlock a door on the left; the door to the cellar.

The Heiress made her decision right then and there. At first, she thought this choice would disgust her. Make her hate what she was even more than she already did. Make her choose to end her own existence once and for all after all these centuries. Or, at the very least, to retreat to her castle deep in the Emerald Forest, never to return.

But then, she heard the muffled cries for help from downstairs. She heard the sound of leather whips cracking, and two voices that didn't belong to the magistrate shout angrily at the pitiful moans of the young boys below.

And the Heiress smiled, her fangs poking through as she misted herself to follow the magistrate into the cellar. Only a single thought pervaded her mind.

_Everyone dies._

* * *

_Song: Parasite - Freakangel_

**Author's Notes**

Surprise! Holy's here with a new story!

Long time no see, friends. How have you been? Me? I've been busy as all hell with work. And work. And even more work! But, alas, let's get into _The Eternal Heiress_!

I had this idea before work about four days ago. A Victorian style AU of Remnant where Weiss is a vampire in Vale in the 1800s, where Vale is similar to London within Bram Stoker's _Dracula._ I don't know, we'll see how it goes. I have some vague idea of what I'm doing for this story. I have a chapter list ready, and yes I am once again using song titles. Let me know what you think so far, though this is just the prologue to set the tone. Nothing truly story related has happened yet. In any case, please leave a review.

**Fun Fact: **One of my best friends is getting marries tomorrow, so I get to go to the wedding! Whoo!

Till Next Time~!


	2. Chapter 1: Roses

Chapter 1: Roses

The Summer of 1897 had come to a close, and Autumn had swept in to take its place. The city of Vale, capital of the kingdom of the same name, was at peace for the most part. Save for the fact that over a dozen exsanguinated corpses were discovered early this very afternoon at a local magistrate's estate. Those of the lower class either didn't know or didn't care, and the middle class continued to function through the incident without hesitation, but the upper class was in a frenzy. Who or what could have murdered so many so quickly? None knew where to even begin to piece this mystery together, not even the constable, Jaune Arc. For three days and three nights he asked around to all of the magistrates friends and neighbors. The magistrate, as it turned out, had few friends worth mentioning that were still alive. The majority of them seemed to have perished with him on that gruesome night.

Constable Arc couldn't help but notice several details during his examination of the corpses and of the crime scene. First and foremost was, of course, the apparent cause of death. Every single body, down to the last, had a pair of puncture wounds on the neck around where the jugular was, and upon surgical examination found that not a one of them had a single drop of blood within their veins. They were completely dry of all fluid, and yet the crime scene was spotless of any and all traces of blood. It was as if a precise instrument had been used to drain them all cleanly, and the blood was then disposed of somehow. Yet, if that were the case, why was there an apparent lack of a struggle? None of them were armed, and there was no sign that any of the victims had attempted to defend themselves. This, to the good constable, was most unusual.

More disturbing still was the state of the room at large. It all happened within the magistrate's wine cellar, but to Jaune it was anything but that. There were cages upon cages, as though the magistrate had been keeping some sort of wild animal, but there remained no trace of anything having ever been in the holding cells with the exception of empty plates, chunks of moldy bread, and water filled bowls. What was in that room? The good constable, for all his merits, couldn't begin to hazard a guess.

Three days had passed, and no new clues had surfaced. There were rumors, of course. There always were. While many of the lower class cared not for the passing of a magistrate that they never saw personally, there were those of a more superstitious sort that were all too willing to throw their opinions into the already confusing fray. And Constable Arc dared not entertain those notions. They were ridiculous. Beyond ridiculous, even. For these wilder speculations, according to the uneducated masses, pointed to one culprit.

The Heiress of Castle Schnee.

Jaune knew the story well. Admittedly it was one of his favorites growing up. Some two, maybe three hundred years ago, a wealthy family lived in a castle deep with the Emerald Forest. They lorded over the city of Vale, then just a simple merchant hub, until a curse destroyed them. Legend has it that of the family only a single person survived; the middle daughter of Lord Jaques Schnee, Weiss. Supposedly, she survived by selling her soul to the Devil himself, or some other such entity, and became one of his thralls in exchange for eternal life, forever bound to an unquenchable thirst for the blood of man. In short, a vampire.

And the good constable spared not a thought for this damned tale.

* * *

But all the while, as Constable Jaune Arc debated internally about the possibilities of who was behind this crime, a new face was riding into town. For the better part of fifteen years now, the city of Vale boasted one of the largest, most successful train stations, housing the world's most powerful steam locomotives as far as the kingdom was concerned. Designed and placed into service earlier in the year, the 1897 Baldwin Locomotive rolled into the station, steam hissing and wheels gently grinding to a stop as it went before coming to a complete halt on Platform Five of the Central Vale Station. "All stop!" came the voice of the conductor from the engine proper, and on hand attendants began to open the passenger car doors one by one as they helped the occupants exit the magnificent wonder of steam powered engineering. Among these arriving travelers was a young woman, barely an adult by the standards of the time. Garbed in a black dress accented by red lace and boots, offset by an equally red hooded cloak, the woman stepped onto the platform. A large brown luggage case hung heavily in her right hand, but she barely seemed to notice the weight as she brushed her black and red highlighted hair out of her eyes to greet the Autumn sun, pausing only a moment longer to straighten the rose that adorned the left of her chest.

She smiled, seemingly pleased with her arrival, before making her way to the station's exit. She approached a nearby policeman that was standing guard outside of the station, clearing her throat to gain the man's attention. "Excuse me," she said lightly and cheerily. "I'm sorry, I'm new to town. Would you mind pointing me in the direction of the constable's station? I have something important I need to discuss with him."

The policeman raised an eyebrow, as though he were about to question her, but opted against it. _Not my problem,_ he thought coldly. He gave her a brief series of instructions, and away she went. Vale was easily the largest city she'd ever been to for work, which did make navigation a bit tricky and unorthodox for a few minutes, but she did eventually find her way as she approached the dull, stone colored government building that housed the First District Police Force and, in turn, the good Constable Jaune Arc.

* * *

Jaune Arc was many things. Dedicated to his job and doing the right thing, but he was also young and naive. How he managed to be appointed as the constable in charge of Vale's investigative division at his age was beyond his comprehension, much like this magistrate's murder. He prayed, hoping against hope that something, _anything_, would pop up to aid in his investigation. So, when he heard a knock on his office door he crossed his fingers. _Please, for the love of god,_ he thought. "Yeah?" he shouted through the closed door.

In came one of his favorite lieutenants, Lie Ren. "Hey, Jaune, there's a woman here to see you."

Jaune raised an eyebrow in confusion. "A woman?"

"Yeah, said she needed to speak with you about something. Should I bring her in?"

The good constable shrugged. "Sure. Let's see what this is about."

Ren exited, returning a few moments later with this young woman in tow. She entered Jaune's office, delicately placed her luggage on the ground, and approached the young constable with an extended hand. "Good afternoon. You must be Constable Jaune Arc."

"That would be me, yes," he said, taken aback as he accepted her hand. "And you are?"

"Oh, right. Sorry. My name is Ruby. Ruby Rose. I work for the Church."

"I see," Jaune said. _Well, the Magistrate was a pious man, so it goes without saying that the Church would have a stake in this case. _"I assume you're here because of the magistrate's murder."

The two broke away from the handshake, and Ruby continued to smile away, almost like she were excited to be present. "Yep! Though, not because of why you think I'm here, I'm sure. Do you mind if I speak with you in private?"

Jaune eyed her curiously before nodded to Ren, who promptly left. "Can I offer you a drink, Miss Rose?" he asked as he pulled out a bottle of scotch. He himself detested the drink, but his predecessor had left it here, so he figured he'd offer it anyway.

"No, thank you. I prefer milk," Ruby said as she said down in a nearby chair. Jaune nodded, returning the bottle from whence he found it. "First thing's first. I _do_ work for the Church, but I'm not a member of the clergy. I have no influence politically here, nor do I want it. I'm not here to account for any losses the clergy may have taken in the magistrate's murder."

"I see," Jaune said. "So, why _are_ you here?"

"To assist in your investigation. I work for a branch within the church called Beacon. Basically, we're just like you and your department here, but on a nationwide scale. And we only investigate, shall we say, _unusual_ cases."

Jaune nodded. "Then, I take that to mean you've seen my initial report on the crime scene and the state that the bodies were in."

Ruby nodded excitedly, pulling a copy of the report of her pocket as she attempted to read it aloud. "Yup! Exang...exseng...ensag...total blood loss. Bad way to go, huh?"

"Exsanguination," Jaune said.

"Yeah, that."

"Uh huh. Look, Miss Rose, I don't mean to come off as rude but...are you _qualified_ to participate in this investigation?"

She smiled even wider. "Yup! Just got my certification a week ago! This is my first case! Exciting, isn't it?"

Jaune sighed. "And if I don't let you?"

Her eyes narrowed. She reached into her pocket again and pulled out a letter. "Well, unfortunately for you, I'm not _asking_ if I can join. I'm _telling_. This is a letter of mark from his Holiness himself. Father Ozpin is who I answer to. Not you. So, I do apologize for the inconvenience, but both of our hands are tied. Nothing to be done."

Jaune sighed yet again. "Very well, Miss Rose."

Ruby smiled again. "Just call me Ruby."

"Well, shall we get started?"

"Yes, please. For starters, may I please examine the crime scene?"

* * *

_Song: Roses - Meg and Dia_

**Author's Notes**

Yeah, the fabled double hitter of two chapters in the same day. But, that's pretty much how I roll when I start a new story. I write the Prologue and the 1st Chapter back to back. In this case, I actually decided to split Chapter 1 into two chapters, because in my excited to be writing again I made it run a little long. So, Chapter 2 is already underway, but it won't be out today. That would be too much. I'm ambitious, but not crazy. As I said, I have a vague idea of what this story is going to be about that is slowly becoming more and more clear as I write on.

Now, lets get some house keeping out of the way. This is, obviously a Victorian Era AU of Remnant, with Vale being kinda like London, and the year is 1897. I haven't specified Ruby's age yet, but she is quite young. Older than Volume 1 Ruby though I would imagine. Ozpin isn't likely to make an actual appearance, but he's basically the Pope. In regards to the tags, _yes_ there will be some shipping eventually. I haven't written a ship-fic in a long while, and I didn't want to just dish out another one shot. I wanted it to be special, so I'm doing what I do best; tackling some dark and morbid themes while I tell a love story! Though, I will admit, one of the challenges I'm facing is trying to find a voice for this story that emulates the time period. That's actually quite difficult.

Anywho, I know not when Chapter 2 will be out, but I am writing it already so we'll see in a few days/weeks I suppose.

Till Next Time~!


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